Month: January 2007

Once again hell freeezes over. Wow… the Police. One of my favourite bands that I never had a chance to see live. Regardless if it is a money grab or retirement fund for Sting, Andy, Stewart I don’t think I would pass up a chance to hear all those great songs performed by the band. Incredible.

The past weekend was pretty busy. Saturday we started our mission to find a coffee table to fit into our updated decor in the living room. Well… it is more difficult than we expected. Now that the walls and floor are lighter and the e-unit is medium wood, we pretty much have to stick with medium wood colours. However, the majority of what is available is dark wood. It is pretty odd. We would find a piece we’d like ascetically but the colour was wrong. The colour would be right but the piece was ugly. The quest continues. In the evening I helped a neighbour with some computer problems. Ended up spending most of the night there…

Sunday was completely dedicated to the breed club we belong to. B. and I both help with the newspaper and the website. So it was a full day of reorganizing, redesigning and discussing the new direction the newpaper would take. I think the redesign will make the paper look modern, professional and bring a new level of credibility to the organization. We met with Brian and Marnie who are on the club’s board. They have a charming place in Oakville. We had a run with the dog in the area. It was beautiful, newly fallen snow, trees, quiet. I regret not bringing my camera. The night ran a little long but we got a lot accomplished.

It was a sad day at work Friday. The business co-founder and guy who hired me decided to take a (possibly permanent) leave of absence. Not only have I learned a lot from him but he has become a friend. It is sad to see that he has moved on. I wish him all the best.

Crazy ice storm last night… Everything outside this morning was coated in a thin layer of ice. If you walked on the snow you would hear a strange crunching.

Did some browsing at a few furniture stores today. We stopped by Sears. We have a clerk there we like. She is an older woman, really sweet. She made an odd remark today to me, ‘you have incredible patience for a young man.‘ -Smirk- We didn’t really find what we were looking for. Maybe tomorrow.

Stupid NHL. Yes, again. The board of governors rejected changing the NHL playing schedule by one vote. I think it is a cheap cop-out and ultimately hurts the NHL. Like all major sports; one of the main motivators is seeing the stars of the game. The way the schedule works now it could be years before a city hosts a team with particular stars. It is really sad. I was hoping the NHL would reverse its moronic change back but apparently there are thing more important than fans and what is best for the league overall. Sad. And is true they use manual hand stop watches at the all-star game? Surely this is a joke. *headslap*

My ISP at home got a letter from some security firm complaining about a movie I was downloading. It is popular hollywood movie by a well know media company. It is the super mega powerful company tossing its legal might around forcing compliance by the little guy. Gawd forbid I download a movie… then wham-o I got form letter in my in-box. Nice to see technology used to keep the gluttonously rich in California rich. Threats and intimidation are going to make me want to buy your movies and see your films? Unbelievable.

Rock.
Saturday I enjoyed a guys night out in downtown Toronto. We went to see the Toronto Rock home opener. It is a yearly event put on by Brock University for Alumni. It was a lot of fun. It was great to see some old friends that I rarely get a chance to see. I don’t enjoy driving around downtown and I parked having no idea where I was in relation to the ACC… Fortunately it turned out to be very close… Leaving was even better: just followed the Gardiner Express signs. The game itself wasn’t bad. The Rock got a few major penalties which were clearly the difference in the losing game. Oh well. Brock subsidizes the use of a corporate box which we watched the game in. The box is a great way to see a game. So much room. After the game we went to the Over draught with all the alumni. It is a quiet pub *below* the Toronto Rock’s after game hang out. It seemed crazy loud above us. At one point it was actually somewhat scary. The dance floor was directly above the pub and ‘Home For a Rest’ came on….well… the floor *visibly* moved 2-4 inches as it *thud* *thud* *thudded* with all the dancers above us. People below actually moved. Fortunately the ceiling held. Heh.

Sunday B. and a friend painting the living room. It is a lighter shade of green now… Now the room seems bland with the couches and walls being fairly neutral. We’ll be adding some pop soon with art and a new area rug. The room clearly needs it. I spent most of the day doing laundry and various household errands. Did watch a little football… wish I would have seen the Colts comeback! Sheesh… Manning looked down and out when I stopped watching.

Pencil Toppers
I’m not overly fond of having sandwiches at work for lunch. I prefer something hot. So, if I have to have a sandwich I try to get some extra ingredients to kick it up a notch. One of my favourite additions has been Bick’s pre-sliced sandwich pickles. Yummy. Recently Bick’s started a little marketing ploy by attaching a little finger puppet (pencil topper) to the jar of pickles. These puppets are animals named : Bicky Beaver, Dillbird Duck, Tangy Turtle, Pickly Pig and of course Juicy Moosy. Well the guys at work thought they were pretty funny and were always disappearing; hidden on me somewhere in the office. The ad campaign ended and I was only able to get 4 of the 5 ‘pencil toppers’. So as I joke I said I would e-mail Smuckers and request the missing puppet. Not only did I get a reply the same day; but the Smuckers’ rep said she would look in the warehouse for the missing Dillbird Duck. Hehe… Well I thought that was fair enough. I assumed I get an e-mail in a day saying they couldn’t find a duck… but no! From a reply:

> This letter is in reference to your recent contact with Smucker Foods of Canada Co. We appreciate the time you have taken to contact us and most certainly enjoy hearing from consumers who enjoy our products.

We apologize for the time, but we have been able to find a Dillbird Duck pencil topper. We will forward this to your mailing address.
Wow! I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of the final ‘topper’. –smirk- I wasn’t overly serious with my request, but I have to say I’m impressed, not only with the quick response from Smuckers; but the action they have taken. I can only assume had this been a more serious matter that it would have been dealt with same great customer service. Good job Smuckers.

Tourny breakdown
I work at a unique place. It is all guys except for one; the majority under forty. So there is a ton of testosterone floating around. Most of it is dispelled with a game of Call of Duty but we have also started a new form of fun. We play Rochambeau! What? What indeed. Please allow me to explain this madness. Ahem. What happens is two guys stand facing each other (much like a pistol duel) about 10 meters from each other. Each takes a alternating turn tossing a rubber ball (with one bounce) at each others ‘balls’. The goal? To hit the jewels. It is usually pretty obvious if there is a hit. After 5 misses each; each player takes one step closer towards each other. Tossing continues until a bell is rung. Well we finished a Rochambeau tournament at work. And somehow yours truly won. Heh. Does anyone really win Rochambeau?? Funny.

Gender bender bar
A former co-worker who lived in Estonia for a year is back in Canada. He brought back his girlfriend and some chocolate bars. These chocolate bars are labelled as ‘For Men Only’. Ironically they are just chocolate and nuts. The photo (taken with a cell phone so it is pretty crappy) is of the printed image on the bar of a standard ‘women’ icon with the not allowed line through it. Heh. Nice.

On the way into work this morning, just after I left, I heard an awful scrapping sound coming from my driver side front tire. I pulled over. Slush was frozen and filled my wheel well solid. I wish I had my camera. It was freakish looking. Winter has certainly arrived.

It was a pretty lazy weekend. I think we both needed one. Clearly the dog did. She laid around all weekend. (no pun intended esp. since she is in heat… :P) We did a little bit of house work and did make a trip to Home Depot. We got some new light switches for the house. We finally got rid of the old finger-like switches and upgraded to the flat slim switches. It looks much better IMHO.

Glad to hear my sister and all her pets made it to Edmonton ok. It sounds like she likes her new place and is settling in nicely. Phew.

Toronto finally got a taste of snow this morning. It was more freezing rain/snow but the unseasonably warm temperatures are gonezo. Morning drive took close to an hour. It is normally 20-30 minutes. I don’t think I got up to the speed limit once. Hopefully we’ll get snow soon not this rainy ice mess.

Today my sister flies out West to begin a new life in Edmonton. I wish her success and happiness in this new chapter in her life. I’m sure it will be trying at times but it should be very exciting and refreshing to move to such a dramatically different region in Canada. I’ll certainly miss being able to she her and her husband as often as B. and I were able to in the past year. It will however give a great reason to travel West to an area I love. All the best sib.

I got my final Christmas present from B. last night. A thoughtful calendar with photos of my pets each month. It is really sharp. Thanks hon.